PARENTS are on measles alert in Bridport after an outbreak of the potentially fatal disease.

NHS Dorset and Dorset County Council have sent letters to parents warning them they need to vaccinate their children.

It tells parents of a major outbreak in France but also pinpoints cases in Bridport, Glastonbury and Seaton recently. The alert – which came out through schools – comes after four people from the same family contracted measles in Bridport.

NHS Dorset Health protection practitioner Nicola Thompson said: “Technically it is an outbreak because there are more than two cases but it was all in one family.

“One of the sons lives away and caught it elsewhere and brought it back and gave it to his three siblings.

“Obviously if you are not immunised it is highly infectious. These were all primary school age children, all unvaccinated. To have a significant amount of young children all unwell at the same time is a lot of work.”

Dorset has a 90 per cent uptake of the triple measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine.

The target is at least 95 per cent. NHS Dorset Health programme advisor Denise Winter said since the letter went to parents there has been a significant increase in enquires from worried parents.

“All the schools have had a letter and we are getting quite significant numbers of enquiries from parents themselves who don’t understand about MMR.”

Ms Thompson added: “There are lots of queries from parents in respect of their children going abroad.

“Because there is more measles about people are taking the message quite seriously and wanting to know where they can get their children vaccinated and how they go about doing it.

“It is good that people are taking it seriously.

“Although the disease is quite nasty in itself, it is the side effects it can cause that are the main worry.

“It is a different rash from meningitis but obviously quite a lot of GPs up until recently won’t have much experience of measles because we haven’t had any.

“It can be fatal at worse, it effects the nervous system but people haven’t seen it for such a long time because of immunisation.”

With the holiday season approaching the message from health bosses is to make sure children are protected well before travelling abroad.

Ms Winter added that take up for immunisation fell after the now discredited Dr Andrew Wakefield linked the vaccine to increased risk of autism.

He has since been struck off.

Bridport Medical Centre deputy practice manager Amanda Murphy said that demand for vaccination had not outstripped supply.

More information can be found on the NHS Choices website or by visiting dorset.nhs.uk

Parent's concern over cover

PARENTS in Bridport are concerned for those who haven’t had the MMR jab and confused about their own and their children’s immunity.

Not all parents have heard about the outbreak but those that have said they will be checking with the medical centre on their own cover.

Although they all thought hard about having the vaccine Caroline Brake, Nicky Bird and Rachel Symes, whose children go to Bridport Primary, said they were very glad they decided to do it.

Mrs Brake said: “It is naughty of the parents who don’t have their children vaccinated because they think everybody else will and so their child will be all right.

“All those people who avoided the MMR are going to be in trouble. I would be worried if I hadn’t had them done.”

Mrs Bird added: “It was great that it came out on ParentMail, which was a way of telling everybody about it.”

There was confusion about the level of cover and no one was sure their older children were still covered or whether they were themselves. They were all going to check with the medical centre.

Mrs Symes said: “They seem to changed the number of jabs between my children. My youngest hasn’t had her booster yet, does that mean she hasn’t got immunity?”